In 2015, I wanted to create a mini documentary video about David Madore, a County Councilman in Clark County, Washington. David is the founder of US Digital, a local manufacturing company in Vancouver, Washington. He is a generous supporter of local charities, and he was very involved in his community before running for office. I think his story is a positive one that should inspire others to get involved in local government and know that you can make a difference as well. This is Part1
This was a video I helped produce for my friends in Whatcom County to try to persuade them to vote yes for Charter Amendments 1,2 & 3 in November 2015. I love the visual imagery of Whatcom County here – including some Ski to Sea video. We did succeed and all three of these charter amendments passed. Unfortunately, they also passed some bad amendments we tried to oppose…
This was a video I helped produce for my friends in Whatcom County to try to persuade them to not vote for the County Council sponsored Charter Amendments 9 & 10 in November 2015. I love the visual imagery of Whatcom County here – including some Ski to Sea video. Unfortunately, we did not succeed and both these charter amendments passed…
Misti, who lives near Washington’s capitol city of Olympia, had a lifelong dream of having a horse ranch. When her dream came true, she decided to give back to the community by inviting special needs children out for horse back rides and time on her ranch. Thurston County tried to destroy her dream by preventing her from using her property to help children or do anything else. This was another video I produced while I was at the Freedom Foundation for the Tales of Tyranny series.
Joe Remenar retired, and he purchased a small property and home not far from the Canadian border in Whatcom County. Enjoying the views out his back deck, Joe decided to improve the wildlife habitat on his property. He didn’t apply for a grant or take taxpayer dollars. He just spent his own time and money to improve the habitat for the birds, amphibians, insects, and other critters by building a pond. He was careful in his pond construction. That wasn’t good enough for the Central Planners – they demanded he destroy the habitat. This was another video I produced while I was at the Freedom Foundation for the Tales of Tyranny series.
For three years, Captain Dave Petrich operated the farm boat, a small organic farmer’s market located in Seattle’s iconic South Lake Union district. This year, the City of Seattle forced the Farm Boat to close through aggressive attempts to collect over $8,000 in past-due parking tickets owed by someone barely connected to Dave or his business. This was another video I produced while I was at the Freedom Foundation for the Tales of Tyranny series.
When Errol Speed built an accessory building on his property, he thought he’d followed San Juan County’s rules. According to the County, buildings under 1,000 sq. feet did require permits, fees, or plans. Instead, the County took Errol to court and convicted him of building and maintaining a permanent structure on his own property. This Tales of Tyranny story asks: Do we want to live in a country where minor code violations are treated like major criminal actions? This was another video I produced while I was at the Freedom Foundation for the Tales of Tyranny series.
For decades, the Daman family managed their property on the Olympic Peninsula according to the strictest forest practice guidelines in North America. They jumped through all the hoops to get permission from Washington’s Department of Natural Resources to harvest the timber they’d tended for 70 years. That wasn’t enough. This was another video I produced while I was at the Freedom Foundation for the Tales of Tyranny series.
Unlike most of the Tales of Tyranny stories, this was a story about a local government entity – the Bethel School District in Pierce County, Washington. In this case, the school district purchases a piece of property to build a new school, and the local extremist Gang Green group convinced the Growth Management Hearings Board to shut down local control over school siting. This was another video I produced while I was at the Freedom Foundation for the Tales of Tyranny series.
Nick Jones lived in San Juan County , Washington and he just wanted to sell local shellfish at his honor box farm stand. Until San Juan County code enforcement shut him down by demanding an expensive, irrational upgrade to his farmstand. This was another video I produced while I was at the Freedom Foundation for the Tales of Tyranny series.
